Loose Screws
by KageSakura
Summary: Manga-verse only. Set a little after chapter 63 with an alternate twist. Instead of heading to Briggs the Elric brothers follow a lead on Scar in East City, and Winry is brought to Central on Mustangs order. EdWin Work in progress. Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well it's finally up. Work in Progress but hey I have more free time to focus on it. Well enjoy. This is one of my favorite chapters ever written, by the way.**

Synopsis: Manga verse. Spoilers if you aren't current with the manga. Starts somewhere after chapter 63. After the Fuhrer uses Winry as a threat to the Elrics before they leave to the North. And after Ling is Greed and before Ed called Winry to see if she was okay. Ed's automail was broken in pieces and the Colonel decided to have Winry come up to fix it secretly. They met at Denny's place and then they went with her down to Rush Valley with the excuse of doing more research. Ed is conflicted b/c he hasn't told Winry anything.

Disclaimer: Not now and not ever will I own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Loose screws

Chapter 1

He stretched as far as he could into the office chair, taking in his surroundings. A stack of papers piled high threatened to fall and scatter onto the mahogany desk. Next to those two picture frames, one of the late Brigadeer General and the Flame Alchemist and the other of a smiling little girl and her mother. He let his eyes linger there before he turned in the chair taking in the royal blue rug spotted where someone had carelessly spilled black ink. He brought his head up to watch the door waiting for something dramatic to happen and was disappointed, and not for the first time that day.

Taking out his silver watch Edward Elric glanced at the time. "Bastard's late."

With nothing of interest to look at he turned to his other senses. Something was making his nose itch, and it took him a second to recognize the source.

He took a breath and exhaled heavily taking a whiff of tobacco and he couldn't help but wonder if the Colonel had recently decided to take up smoking. He shook his head at the idea. It was ridiculous; the guy could blow himself up the moment he struck a match, what with ignition cloth being his main weapon. He picked up a pen on the desk and started unconsciously tapping it against the wood.

Unless of course, he smoked when he wasn't wearing gloves. That didn't make any sense either; it would be pretty stupid of the man to lower his defenses in favor of a cigarette.

He let out a little laugh. At a time like this he was contemplating the bastard's smoking habits or lack there of.

He turned in the chair as he heard the door open. The lights flickered and dimmed making the room glow a reddish color, making Edward wonder exactly how hard he had hit his head. _No you got hit, _the little voice in his head corrected. Hard.

"Full Metal. I suggest you pay attention," The Colonel was waving something in front of his face, and as Edward let himself come back to earth as he realized it was a stack of papers. More importantly, it was a flaming stack of papers.

"These," Mustang waved the smoldering stack in front of him. "are records of your stay in Eastern City. I also took the liberty of adding to the pile…all the receipts and bills for your upcoming your stay in Rush Valley. Everything is paid and accounted for and as far as everyone knows I sent you North."

"Rush Valley?" What the hell was Mustang playing at. He still hadn't forgiven the man for the last twenty four hours. He had come back to Central to find Brosh on his way to pick up a certain blonde mechanic. A certain blonde mechanic who had her life on the line and was not supposed to be anywhere near Central in the first place.

"Yes." Despite the urgency of the situation Mustang sure was taking his sweet time. He waved the charred papers like a fan and let the ashes fall into a nearby waste basket. "I assume you are dying to know why I am sending you there," picking up the pen that Ed was still unknowingly tapping out of the alchemists hands. "But before that I want you to explain to me what the hell you were doing in Eastern City without my knowledge."

Edward rolled his eyes. He let himself slouch further into the chair and glared at the mahogany finished desk. Not this game. He hated this game.

His eyes landed on the box of cigarettes on the desk. "Since when did you start smoking?"

He turned the chair around to look up at the Flame Alchemist. He wasn't going to give in so easily.

Mustang narrowed his eyes. "Havoc asked me to pick them up for him." He reached over and picked up the half empty box of cigarettes and tossed them on the desk. His voice was solemn. Winry wasn't the Fuhrer's only hostage.

Edward was surprised. He had expected some sort of smart ass remark like how he should obey his superior officer. He figured Mustang was about to ask for him to do something he didn't like. He was keeping his usually smart alec comments to a minimum. Interesting.

Mustang stayed standing, looking down at him as if he was some parent scolding a misbehaved child. Then as if he realized what he was doing and didn't want to cause him offense he cleared his throat and crossed the room.

Edward wasn't fooled. They were slowly going through the motions, an officer reporting to his superior. He had had grown used to their warped little game of chess. Mustang would ask him a question in exchange for an answer to his own. He would listen to his case, probably ask him if he wanted coffee and then he would drop the bomb on his head and before he could recover…checkmate.

"Answer the question." Mustang's voice was clear, even from across the room.

"Apparently someone saw Scar in East City." He fumbled with his watch chain, "It wasn't him."

Mustang was silent urging Edward to continue. "Some idiot ended up shooting an Ishbalan. Caused some sort of uprising."

Well that was one way to put it. Truth be told the incident had caused quite a stir in neighboring cities as well, if negotiations didn't go well Amestris was looking at an all out war. That was why they were sitting so cozy in this office right now. The Fuhrer had been called away to East City, apparently to help with so called "negotiations."

"I'm aware of that."

Ed figured he didn't need to say anything else. Mustang knew quite well. There was no doubt in both the alchemists' minds that the homunculus was intent on starting a war.

"Would you care for a cup of coffee? Scieska made it and it's not half bad." He said the sound of trickling liquid filled the corner as he poured himself a cup.

Edward clenched his fists. Bastard.

"Why did you bring Winry here?"

The girl had arrived just a few hours before, accompanied by Denny Brosh. She had taken one look at Ed, at his broken automail. No questions were asked, but as expected he became very well acquainted with the wrench he had bought her four years prior. Edward rubbed his head in remembrance of the feeling of cold metal.

"Your arm?" Mustang was not giving him a break. He had figured Al had filled Mustang in on all the details when he had had his turn in the office. Apparently that had not been the case.

"Greed," Edward grit his teeth at the memory. "On the way back from East City, didn't do that much damage." He conveniently left out the part where Ling, the current Greed, had run away after damaging his arm; gloating about not being able to fight someone who was handicapped.

"Why did you bring her here?" he repeated sounding dangerous.

Mustang crossed the room and sat down behind his desk, setting the cup the safest distance from the precarious pile of papers. He folded his fingers in front of his face and stared at Ed a bit before speaking. "The same reason you chose not to tell her anything."

Edward sighed at the rest of the unfinished sentence. To protect her.

Not even less than five hours ago he had almost jumped on the man upon realizing his plan to tell the blonde about her situation and send her to another country. Had he not arrived there that day she would have been halfway to Creata right now.

However, be it by luck or not he had managed to get to the Colonel and convince him to change his mind before she had arrived in Central. Winry was now with Alphonse sitting safely in Denny's apartment. Angry (at Ed for all but trashing her most recent masterpiece)and clueless (at the whole situation) but otherwise safe.

"You really think that's the best choice, Full Metal?" Mustang eyes narrowed as he lay his chin on his folded hands watching the younger alchemist.

Ed's face duplicated the Colonel's serious look. Ah, so the questions weren't over yet. Mustang was taking his sweet time. "It's the safer choice. The less she knows the better."

"Safest, but not the smartest. Nor the fairest," he added as an afterthought.

Ed felt his chest clench at his words. He knew he was right Winry was pretty confused as it was. After forcing her to come to Central on such short notice, causing her to turn around now without any explanation would only baffle her more.

"Enough of that. Why the hell are you sending us to Rush Valley?" he all but growled.

"Ah yes," The older alchemist fished around in the top drawer and pulled out an envelope and what looked like a page ripped out of a notebook. He handed them to Edward. "I have a mission for you."

Boom, went the bomb.

"What now, Mustang?" Edward grumbled. He suddenly felt incredibly tired. It had been a long day.

He ignored Ed's enthusiasm. "The paper is for the receptionist at the Five Star hotel _The Lotus_ in Rush Valley, you'll like it. Give the letter to Winry when you get the chance. It's not from me," he said when Ed looked at him suspiciously. "It's from Hawkeye and it has nothing to do with the hostage situation."

Ed took both the paper and the envelope folded them and put them into his coat pocket.

"Anything else?"

A smirk spread over the Colonel's face and Ed suddenly wished he hadn't asked. "As a matter of fact, yes."

Ed raised an eyebrow.

The Colonel seemed to contemplate his next words then he looked him straight in the eyes. "I want you to look into anything you can uncover on the Philosopher's stone while you're there."

An imaginary king toppled over in Ed's mind. Checkmate.

"What?!" he let his eyebrows rise to his forehead. Mustang brought himself up from the Mahogany desk and walked to the window. Their meeting was over.

"Major Armstrong is waiting for you at the door. You don't want to miss your train Full Metal."

Edward tried to erase the exasperated and confused look off his face as a familiar figure of a giant appeared at the door. "Edward Elric it is an honor to accompany you on this glorious night."

"Evening, Major Armstrong." Edward forced a smile at the Major and let himself be led down the hall.

The envelope in his pocket felt heavy as it shifted against the cloth. As they walked into the breezy street he felt the night wind his face, but he didn't relax. Not for the first time he found himself wondering just what the Flame Bastard was up to.

* * *

A/N: This story was written a few months ago. Shame I couldn't get it up until now. Chapter 2 will be up shortly, I just have to look over it and remind myself of what exactly is going on since I haven't looked at this in a while. I planned it to be about twenty chapters, it could be more or less depending on if I acomplish what I want to by then.

Hope you enjoyed it so far...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter is a lot longer...yea...

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Never will, Fullmetal Alchemist is Hiromu Arakawa's.

Chapter 2

The train had pulled out of the station an hour late, due to the storm. They still hadn't arrived at their destination. One by one flashing lights illuminated the train compartment and it rumbled, as if the darkness would explode, each time. The rain rattled against the windows as if a thousand beads were falling from the sky. However of the three passengers in the train car only one was being kept awake by the thunderous noise.

Winry Rockbell looked over at her two companions; one large suit of armor whose red eyes seemed darker now, as far as she could figure, he was fast asleep. He was positioned in the seat across from her as he was so big he needed two seats to himself. The flashing illuminated off his armored face and he didn't as much as shudder. She then looked down at the sleeping boy next to her, who was her age but way shorter. His eyes were shut tight and the only indication that he was still alive was the rising and falling of his chest.

The storm outside raged on as even more rain bombarded the windows. He didn't stir.

"These two can sleep through anything," Winry sighed in annoyance.

Being unable to fall asleep she sat herself up. The passing blurs outside indicated they were still on the move and the scratch of train wheels seemed to have reached a steady rhythm. Being the only one awake felt awkward, but she couldn't help it. She had grown up in Rezembool; which was in the middle of nowhere, but at least one couldn't hear a thing at night.

The day had been stressful enough; It all started with a call at around ten o clock in the morning from Mustang and then running to catch the next train, only to arrive in Central at four o clock in the afternoon then not being allowed to actually head to Headquarters. She had had to deal with Lituentant Brosh and Al trying to stall her as she tried to look for the Full Metal Alchemist who was having some sort of quarrel with Brosh on the phone. Edward had arrived at Brosh's apartment two hours later and upon seeing how bad the damage was she had beaten him down, and he had stormed off. He hadn't said a word to her since then even after he stumbled into the apartment at eight o clock at night. Winry figured he was still mad. But it was all his fault for showing up with paralyzed automail and no real reason to back it up.

_Fell down the stairs, my foot._ Even the part of his brain and made excuses seemed to be broken. As it was all of him had looked pretty beat up, even before she had hit him.

A sudden jolt of the train snapped her out of her thoughts and made her fall forward. She caught herself before she hit the floor.

"_Grrr. There's no way I'm going to sleep tonight!" _she silently yelled to no one in particular.

In her attempt to sit back down she forgot one important thing, and jumped back as her butt touched metal. She looked down to see that Edward Elric had somehow sprawled himself on his back in her short absence, and was now in complete control of the seat. He snored on. Frustrated, Winry took hold of his automail arm and pushed him into a corner. He didn't so much as bat an eye.

She couldn't help but smile. For being such a shrimp he sure caused a lot of trouble.

Sitting down again she let her thoughts distract her, and eventually she finally felt she could fall asleep when another jolt shook her out of her reverie. She felt a cold steely hand grab hers and looked down to see the Full Metal Alchemist mumbling in his sleep.

"Nnn….nggn…please…"

Her eyes softened. She had known the Elric Brothers since they were kids, but the Full Metal alchemist had never shown any of his emotions to her. Only when he was asleep could one tell how hard this all had been on him. Sometimes it was the only way Winry had of proving his heart wasn't made of steel as well as his limbs.

"Nnn…Winry…"

She let go of his hand immediately, blushing deep crimson. However his eyes were still closed, meaning he was still asleep. Maybe even dreaming, dreaming of her.

She wanted very much for that to be the case. But her hope dried up when he rolled over and mumbled. "…please pass the salt…"

Winry felt a vein pulse near her temple. "Even in sleep he's a total food hog!" she said a bit too loudly.

She was about to punch him in the head when he shuddered involuntary as if struck in the back. _I haven't done anything yet! _she hissed_._

Suddenly she felt him grab her hand again and this time, he sort of snuggled into her like some strange cat. Before Winry could shake him off, she noticed that four of the screws in the elbow of his right arm were loose. As it turned out Ed's arm was in a lot worse shape than she had anticipated and she hadn't been able to do anything for him, which is why they were heading back to Rush Valley the same day she had arrived in Central. Whatever had happened, it had rendered his almost useless.

"Nnnn…no…no…mom please…no…" Winry tensed as the teen's face rubbed into her knee, making her blush even more.

"Edward…" she willed him to wake up shaking him with her free hand.

"Mom…mom…Give her back…no…" The feeling of his skin on hers was too much; suddenly she felt herself leaping up, letting him clang onto the floor in the process.

This time he did awaken and so did Al, at the crashing sound. "Brother!"

The older brother got up and rubbed the sore spot where he had fallen on his face.

"What the hell was that all about?!" Golden eyes glared at Winry.

She couldn't tell him all of what just happened, but he had pushed her to her limits "I'm…not…" She said feigning anger, she wasn't about to tell him he was calling out to his mother, not about to tell him how his touch made her feel. "I'm not your personal pillow, Edward Elric!" It had sounded smart in her head.

Ed raised an eyebrow in pure confusion. "Wha?" His eyes widened when he apparently noticed the red imprints of his metal fingers wrapped around her wrist, imprints on the skin below the hem of her skirt.

"I'm sorry," he said, nonchalantly. "I'm not used to sleeping next to anyone but Al."

He made it to the other side of the compartment, and sat down next to the suit of armor. "There. Problem solved." He yawned.

Winry just stood there for awhile then sat down watching him fall asleep again. He was always like this; never ever acting like anything fazed him. The red in his face faded away as his eyes closed and he sprawled awkwardly on the seat again. It was as if nothing had happened in the first place. Winry hated that about him, but it was also one those traits she admired.

"You know," said Al quietly from the corner. "Brother really doesn't know how to apologize; you'll have to excuse his rudeness."

Winry looked out the window at the falling rain, contemplating those words. That wasn't it at all. She didn't need an apology.

Al was quiet and his red eyes were gentle in the darkness. He had spent all afternoon and evening with her trying to convince her that she in fact did not want to murder Edward Elric. Winry appreciated his support. The truth was she really didn't know how to feel when it came to the older and more stubborn blond.

"I know," said Winry quietly. "But sometimes…sometimes it seems like the only time he opens up to me about anything, is when he's asleep. And even then he thinks I'm someone else. He has nightmares, but he won't ever admit it, especially not to me. Then he acts like nothing happened."

"That's Brother. But I think sleeping next to you makes his nightmares go away."

Winry blushed. "What?"

"By the way he grabbed on to you it seemed he was searching for solace, you calmed him down…"

"Wow Al," she smiled, "guess I never thought of it—wait a minute, you saw that?" Her blue eyes widened. She felt a blush creep on her cheeks

Al his put up his metal arms as if asking Winry not to shoot an imaginary gun. "No—I mean yes! I mean I didn't mean to, you two were right in front of me!" He braced himself apparently expecting a wrench or other object to be directed at him, courtesy of Winry.

To his surprise she made no such attempt. "I thought you were asleep." It was just like Edward to make someone uncomfortable without realizing it.

"Even if I had wanted to, I couldn't fall asleep, don't you remember? "said Al, solemnly. And before Winry could apologize he shook his head. "But you need to get your rest. Tomorrow will be a long day. Good night Winry"

Al settled again into his seat careful not to wake his brother who was asleep on his left side, with his hair over his face.

"Right." Winry smiled at the sight of them."Good night Al."

She lay down on the seat trying to find repose; it was still warm with Ed's body heat. Soon she too was dreaming away, listening to the steady rhythm of the the train and the rain against the window.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Esteemed passengers, due to last night's electrical storm we are behind schedule for our arrival at Rush Valley. We will be arriving at 6:00 clock pm. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience."

Edward Elric checked his pocket watch and sighed.

"11: 15 am. Guess we'll have to wait a little longer." He thought aloud.

"It's only a minor setback," said Winry right across from him.

"You know, I thought you'd be a little more disappointed, Winry," he flashed her one of his trademark grins. "Weren't you just dying to get to Rush Valley earlier?"

Under normal circumstances this would have been the case. Winry hated train rides.

She got up and stretched, "My only complaint is that we'll have to sit a little while longer on these rock hard seats. This can't be good for my back."

Winry sat back down and looked out the window. "Other than that I don't mind. It's been a while since we were all together like this. Besides, once we get there we'll be going our separate ways, right? So what's a little more time on a train? I think it's a fair trade. Don't you, Ed?"

Edward just looked at her, apparently at a loss for words. He pretended to be interested in a particular spot on the ceiling and hid his eyes under his bangs. Winry could have sworn he was blushing.

Her eyes went to his arm. Oh yea.

"Oh! Edward! Winry suddenly piped up bringing Ed's eyes back to her. "I just remembered a couple of the screws in your arm are loose. I'll have to fix it before you and Al leave tomorrow."

"Thanks in advance then," he smiled. "I just hope we get there on time. Maybe Rush Valley's library has something useful for us."

"Wait, you two have business in Rush Valley as well? I thought you needed to get back to Central as soon as possible." As that had always been the case.

Al turned towards Ed and nodded at his brother who nodded back. "Colonel Mustang directed us to find out anything we can in all the major cities. We decided we should investigate in Rush Valley too."

"Yea. Besides, I'm in no hurry to see Mustang's smug face. This way we can avoid him while extending our research; best of both worlds." The alchemy nerd sat back in his seat, arms folded across his chest looking very pleased with himself.

Winry couldn't hide her happiness They were staying a bit longer. She got a few more days with them and nothing-not even the best automail parts in the world- could make her happier.

She sat back in her seat as well. Occasionally glancing at Edward who had grown, in her own opinion, a bit more attractive in the months she hadn't seen him. He was beginning to look less like a youngster and more like a man. He had definitely filled out, and was more muscled. His face had grown into a more chiseled form. His hair was longer and the way his bangs fell into his eyes, caused something in Winry that she couldn't identify. And then there were his eyes; gold orbs that caught the light in a way that made her heart leap. They had grown a lot colder over the years, those eyes that had held so much warmth and honesty and determination, but every now and then she could see a glimmer of the old Ed in them. A part of her wished to venture and see how many times she could draw out that light.

Ed probably sensed her staring because he caught her eye and flushed pink. "What?"

Winry brushed a stray hair away from her face. "You really have grown up, Edward," her voice was almost a whisper.

Ed flushed a deeper shade of pink. "Thanks," he said sincerely. And the train rode on.

OoOoOoOo

They arrived in Rush Valley at 6:15 pm, making their way past the crowds of people, most of them sporting automail. Winry looked really happy to be back even as she told them Gartiel Studio was closed for renovation.

Edward and Al stayed close behind her as she navigated them through the sea of people. It was as if the population doubled in size, and Ed couldn't help but wonder; Since when were there so many people in Rush Valley?

When they turned the corner going towards the town square, he saw that all the beat up buildings they had encountered in the last time were new and stood taller than before. Different shops were lined up; selling everything from nuts and bolts to man powered saws. Even the bus they had taken from the station to the town square had seemed like it was newer, what with more seating and a shiny paint job. It seemed Rush Valley had increased its finances as well as the streets were now paved and even the people looked cleaner.

At one point Winry held out her hand to Ed and he took it, letting her guide them through a particular maze of automail shops near the north end of the town. "The hotel isn't far from here," he heard her say.

"Brother," said Al somewhere behind him. "It seems like Rush Valley has become a very successful place, since the last time we were here."

"It's been that way ever since the military set up a base in the center of town, actually," said Winry.

Ed stopped in his tracks, almost falling forward on Winry who was been pulled back by the sudden movement, but he caught his balance.

"Edward!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. He exchanged looks with Alphonse.

What the hell was going on here?

Ed couldn't understand what reason there would be to send military to a place like Rush Valley, but he figured the people didn't mind what with all the financial revenue they probably received for the agreement.

Unless…This was Bradley's way of letting the brothers know Winry's life was in his hands. He could order the soldiers to carry out his orders whenever he wanted, if that was the case. With Winry in such close range, they had to do what he wanted.

He made a note to check out the local military headquarters later on. It angered him that "checking up" on the military was all he could do, with Bradley's soldiers so close to Winry. Was it too late to convince her to go back to Rezembool? No Bradley would put soldiers there too. And even if he didn't, Winry would not abandon her teachers and her customers.

A darker thought crossed his mind as he felt the heat rise in him. Had Mustang known about this?

This time it was Winry who stopped short making him slam into her back. "We're here," she said, a light blush on her cheeks.

The hotel itself looked more like a five star hotel than anything. Ed found himself looking at beautiful hardwood floors and shiny white walls with intricate designs of silver flowers. A mahogany counter stood in the middle surrounded by a crowd of guests waiting to check in.

"Wow it's almost as crowded out here as it is outside," he thought aloud.

"It's the busy season," replied Winry. "Most of the people here are tourists from other cities. They started flocking here after the military paid for the reconstruction of the whole town."

Ed lost himself in his thoughts again. So he was right.

A light tap on the shoulder made him turn around and he found himself looking at a really pretty brunette about his age.

"Excuse me; you are the Full Metal Alchemist aren't you?" Her voice was almost a whisper.

"She knows you Brother," said Al.

"Yea… and who might you be?"

"I'm one of your biggest fans. I think you are the greatest alchemist ever." the girl smiled brightly.

Ed couldn't deny the fact that she was prettier than any girl he'd seen in his travels. Her long brown hair fell to her shoulders and her bangs framed her heart shaped face. Her eyes were bluish purple. She had pale skin, but her cheeks were rosy so her face glowed. Her lips were pink too, but of a natural blush pink color and looked like two delicate rose petals under her perfect nose. She wore a white peasant shirt over a purple skirt.

"Uh..." was his intelligent remark. A fan? He'd never thought about having fans. Enemies yes, people who spread news of his legacy yes, but a beautiful teenage fan girl?

At first her voice was so quiet that Ed almost couldn't hear her. "Do you think I can get your autograph Mr. Elric Full Metal sir? It would make my day, my month, my year!" she raised her voice a decibel at the last words.

She was cute and all, but Ed wasn't sure about this.

"Pleeeeaaase," Damn she was cute.

"Uhhhh…" He was usually such a quick decision maker. He didn't think it was a good idea, what with the military being around and all. Being a needle in the haystack that was Rush Valley one thing (He doubted anyone could single him out in a crowd), but to have some girl walking around bragging about getting his signature...That could be trouble.

He felt Winry put her hand on his shoulder, feeling something dangerous radiating from her touch. "Un, Winry?"

"Isn't this _great_, Edward? You have a _fan_. Go ahead, give her your autograph and make her the happiest woman on earth. Hahahaha!"She said it all while smiling her brightest smile but she couldn't fool Ed. She was going to kill him after this.

"Eh, do you have a pen?" asked Edward. He would have rather fought the homunculi than defy his mechanic.

The girl took a pink pen out of her purse and Ed wondered what the heck she was going to make him sign.

"Ehh…I want it right here," she said cheerfully lifting up the hem of her long purple skirt.

Ed flushed scarlet. "Um." He looked at the pen in his hand then at the white area she was pointing to on her leg

"Do it now Edward," Winry's voice was menacing.

"Uh!" Edward made a sort of shaky signature with the pen on her leg. The girl beamed down at him.

"I need a favor. Please Miss, Don't tell anyone I'm here. You see I'm supposed to be up North and if word got out I was here I'd get a court martial," he whispered to her.

"Don't worry. I'd do anything for my favorite alchemist, I promise." She whispered back.

"Thank you so much. You are so amazing." she said admiring the handiwork. She readjusted her skirt and took the pen back. "Normally I get it on my arm, but this way it won't wash off and I won't get yelled at."

"Won't it wash off in the shower anyway?" asked Ed curiously.

"Nope. It's permanent ink."

Edward blinked."Why the hell would you do that?!" Pretty or not he didn't like the idea of his name tattooed on her forever.

"It's okay really. Cause you see, this leg here--."

"It's automail, isn't it?" Winry interrupted.

The girl nodded. Then she smiled at Ed and without warning wrapped her arms around him in a hug that threw him off balance. "I'm just like you!" she laughed and with that she made her way out of the hotel waving a merry goodbye.

"What was that all about?" Ed voiced aloud.

Winry's face was dark and dangerous. "Let's check in."

The pretty lady behind the counter informed them that do to over crowding they were probably not able to get separate rooms.

"That's okay," said Ed fished in his pocket and handed her the notebook page Mustang had instructed him to. "Al and I always ending up sharing anyway."

The receptionist took the paper and her eyes lit up with understanding. She scanned it a few more times then turned back to her list of available rooms."Ah I see.Well sir, as long as you're comfortable with the fact that there is only one bed in the room…"

"Yea, no problem. Winry will just take the bed, and Al and I will sleep on the floor. Right Al?"

"Right."

The receptionist scribbled something down and handed him another paper, which he pocketed.

"Then it's settled," she smiled. "Your room is number 328. Enjoy your stay."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

(Umm...can't get rid of this line...sorry)

"Who does she think she is?"

Winry grumbled as she walked down the hall.

"I saw the way she was eyeing him. She would've probably done more than hug him if I wasn't around. That dummy probably didn't even notice me behind him when she showed up."

She passed a mirror and stopped short. Her face was red and puffy. Great, leave it to Edward to get her all worked up. Well it's not like she was jealous or anything, he could have as many girls as he wanted. In fact who was she to assume he had never had a girl or two in Central? It's not like he was committed to anyone. He could date as many girls as he wanted. She didn't care.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she caught herself swinging her wrench around and scaring passing hotel staff.

winry sighed and decided to head to the room. "I'm not angry…not angry…not angry..." she said this to herself all the way up the stairs and down the hall to a door with a silver 328 design on the front.

She was about to turn knob when she heard voices. Sort of muffled and distant but she could make out some words.

"You know Brother, I'm beginning to think he knew about this for a while."

"I was thinking the same thing . It's like that bastard knew exactly what was going on, but decided not to tell us. Damn it. I'm tired of being played like a puppet on a string!"

Winry froze with her hand on the doorknob. It sounded like Ed was really upset about something, if she walked in now he would probably yell at her for eavesdropping. After all it's not like Ed would willingly explain anything to her. She heard the sound of a crash and Ed's angry yell. _Edward, what's going on?_ She asked him silently, knowing her words wouldn't reach him.She let go of the doorknob and backed away, running down the hall.

OoOoOoOoOo

Ed balled his fist staring at the broken tea cup on the floor, a vein throbbing in his temple. The hot tea had thankfully splattered on his automail arm. He sat back leaning against the hotel room wall feeling the anger rise up inside him.

"Calm down, Brother." Alphonse bent down and started to sweep the shards of porcelain into a nearby wastebasket. "We'll just have to check out the military base here, but we can't be too obvious. Everyone in Central thinks we headed North. If the military here recognizes us--"

"Well I can disguise myself but you're a suit of armor, pal. I'm not sure how you expect to pull that off." Edward sighed.

"Well maybe if we are discovered we can pretend your automail broke down and we had to come here first…I mean it did but…" The younger brother started thinking of some sort of way to make sense out of everything.

"Speaking of which," Al turned to his brother. "She seemed really happy when we told her we were staying longer, didn't she?" His voice had a smile in it.

The Full Metal Alchemist brushed his bangs out of his face, trying to hide the blush that was creeping its way up. He closed his eyes and tried to look disinterested. "How the hell should I know?"

"Oh are you blushing brother?" He moved Ed's hand away.

"Arghhh, Cut it out Alphonse, I'm just pissed off. Damn bastard he knows more than he lets on."

I wasn't just Mustang either. He really was frustrated at the whole situation. He felt all his frustration weighing him down. After all this time; finding out the truth about Ishval, seeing Ling turn into a homunculus, not being able to do anything about his childhood friend being in danger, Mustang not telling him vital information, the time limit to get Al his body back, the disappearance of Mei Chan who was their major lead to the secrets of Xing's alchemy, all those things had been beginning to weigh down on him. And now this. He leaned his back into the wall. He was so tired.

"Whatever you say, Brother. I know how worried you are. Just admit you care, and it'll be easier on everyone."

Edward just sighed in response. Al shook his head and lowered his voice, "Brother we have to tell her."

Edward felt a clenching feeling overcome his chest. _Not you too._

"No."

"But why not? You think it's fair that she is so close to danger and doesn't even know it?"

"Trust me, Al. She's safer not knowing anything. The less she knows the better." It was the same tired line he had given Mustang, but he wasn't quite sure if he believed it. He stared at the ceiling again, wishing he could sink into the wall.

"How long can we keep such a secret with the military here? We're lying to her face, Brother. It's just not fair to--"

"Don't you think I know that!!" In one swift moment Ed was up on his feet sending a roundhouse kick in the direction of Al's chest plate. Al quickly dodged it, and then continued to avoid his older brother's attempts to pummel him. Not that he could, anyway (pummel him that is).

"Don't you think I know that, Al!" He swung away at the metal not caring that his blows meant nothing to a giant suit of armor.

"Don't tell me you boys are fighting again?" A familiar voice, sounded disappointed from somewhere behind Edward.

He turned to see Winry at the door carrying her tool box and looking slightly concerned.

"Winry," Al moved towards her, his voice sounded relieved.

Winry put her hands on her hips and stared directly at Edward. "All I have to do is turn my back and here you are throwing punches at your brother. No wonder you two are always breaking yourselves."

Ed laughed and scratched his head. "Eheh ehehe..." He was still angry but there was no reason showing his feelings to Winry.

Al turned to Winry and bowed. "Excuse me; I just remembered there's something I have to do. I'll be back later." He walked out the door and down the hall, his armor clanking with each step.

With that, the room was quiet again.

Winry crossed the room and sat on the white linen sheets of the bed. Edward stayed against the wall. Both of them didn't say anything.

Ed leaned harder on the wall. He wanted her to be safe no matter what. Not telling her anything was the right choice, right?

_Are you sure it's the right choice? _The same question echoed in his brain. And Edward grimaced as he realized the voice in his head sounded a lot like Mustang. _I'm not sure of anything anymore, _he told the voice_. _He wished his head would shut up. Winry must have hit him harder than he thought.

Edward looked up to see Winry sitting on the bed her face dark and brooding. She was probably still mad about the autograph thing. But how was he supposed to know some pretty girl would come out of nowhere andask for such a thing? Winry couldn't be thinking it was his fault, could she?

Of course not. Then why wasn't she saying anything?

Golden eyes peered upward and Ed froze at the sight of Winry looming over him. The wrench in her right hand gleamed as it caught the light of the ceiling lamp.

What the hell? He didn't think she'd be this mad!

Edward braced himself with his right arm waiting for the collision of metal on metal. None came_. _

"Your arm," he looked through the gap between his arms to see Winry looked calm. "I need to fix it, remember?"

"Oh," He got up and walked over to the chair Winry had set out feeling really stupid. Not that he would ever admit that to her. "Right."

Quietly, he sat there while she fiddled with the screws and wires. After a while she finally sighed and looked at him with those dark blue eyes of hers. "Seems like its worse than I thought. Not much I can do, since I don't have enough screws," she said while rummaging in her tool box.

He watched as she got up and stretched. "Guess I'll need to go buy more or get some from the shop."

She was about to walk out the door when Ed's left hand caught her arm. "It's about eleven o' clock or so right now."

She expected him to let her go out alone, at night, when her life was already in danger? Yeah right.

"Yea, the bandits and axe murderers don't come out till eleven-thirty."

Ed, who was a bit taken aback by this, stood frozen on the wall. And was that supposed to make him feel any better? Now he was definitely not letting her go anywhere.

"I was joking Edward, you don't have to get so worked up about it. Besides you're the one that shouldn't go anywhere with your arm like that. I'll be fine."

_Like hell you will_, said his angry side.

Ed sighed. "Not by yourself."

"It's not smart to take you along, either."

She was right. Due to his paralyzed arm he couldn't use alchemy which left him all but helpless, even a fight with a local drunkard would be trouble. Not only that his brain argued, with every one thinking he was up north it wasn't the best idea to be spotted in Rush Valley after hours. With less people around it increased the chance of being found out. He definitely didn't want that.

"I'm aware of that." Edward let go of her, got up and crossed to the door.

"Hence, the reason you are staying here tonight," he heard himself say. He sounded like a parent scolding a daughter. It was weird.

Winry sighed. She sat on the bed, watching Edward as he leaned on the wall with his arms folded across his chest. "You're impossible." She cocked her head to the side as if she just realized something. "Oh...why Ed...Don't tell me you're worried about me?"

Of course he was worried about her. She was an idiot even suggesting to go anywhere by herself in this town, at this time of night. Especially when…

He stood up straight on the door, his golden eyes fixed on her, hoping this simple act would change her mind.

He crossed his arm and leaned back, eyes closed. "We can do it tomorrow. I doubt my arm will fall to pieces overnight."

Winry let out a laugh. "Okay. I'll be a good girl and stay home, Uncle Edward."

Ed felt his face flush and his eyes flew open at the comment. "What the hell are you talking about?" He was being serious and here she was making fun of him.

"I was joking! Geez, so serious all the time. Would it kill you to loosen up a little? If it bothers you that much I won't go anywhere."

"Who says it bothers me?" he said, trying to mask his relief with indifference.

Edward watched curiously as Winry got up from the bed and made her way over to her tool box, picking up her stray tools. When she had put everything away she walked over to him with her hands on her hips,. smirking in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. In more ways than one.

"You can move away from the door now, Ed."

Ed looked at her suspiciously, trying to determine any tricks.

The smirk then turned into a cute frown. The blonde cocked her head to the side, studying him.

"You've been weird lately."

Ed felt his eyebrows climb to his hairline.

"Not that you aren't normally that way." He blue eyes were wide as she looked at him, giving her a confused but adorable look. Had she always been so cute?

With only her in his view he couldn't help but notice she had filled out more. Well not her waist, it was pretty slim, but the important parts, had definitely gained volume. Despite their close proximity she had the nerve to close the few feet in front of them and was now standing directly in front of him. Damn her. Why did she have to make him feel so…Edward felt his body tense as he started to panic. No amount of alchemy could solve the situation that would arise if she kept staring at him like _that._

Winry blinked looking confused. "You okay there? Ed?"

The door as it swung open knocking Ed down and Alphonse stepped in looking confused.

"Sorry! Brother, you shouldn't lean on the door like that!"

OoOoOoOoOo

Winry smiled to herself as the two of them argued. However, something was bothering her about that look Ed had given her when she mentioned going out; he had seemed so desperate and almost angry at her. He really was acting weird.

She decided to go into the bathroom to shower and change into her bed clothes, considering she no longer had anywhere to go. She would definitely confront him about it later.

"Ed."

"What?"

"Are you sure you're okay sleeping down there?"

"Yea."

Winry looked down onto the floor, to see the blonde alchemist laying on the floor his face facing the wall. She felt sort of bad sleeping in the nice soft bed.

"It doesn't look very comfortable."

"It's fine."

"Really?"

"This is the fifth time you've asked me that."

She sighed. She knew she wasn't going to win, and she was too tired to argue. Normally she wouldn't even be staying at a hotel, but at Le Gartiel Studios above the automail shop Gartiel, her teacher, ran. However, due to the reconstruction of the shop she had no choice but to share a hotel room with Edward and Alphonse. Not that she minded at all.

"Whatever you say," she said as she rolled over and pulled the bed covers over herself. She buried her face into the pillow and reflected on the places they had to go tomorrow. Her number one priority was the new automail shop in town, they would surely have the type of screws she needed to fix Ed's arm. She hoped he didn't bang it around anymore, the screws it had holding it together wouldn't hold for long. She sighed again_. Oh Edward, you are always getting yourself into some sort of trouble_, she silently told him.

She leaned over the bed to look at him. Edward Elric lay facing the wall, she couldn't see his face but she knew he wasn't asleep; it always took a while for him to fall asleep. There was gooseflesh on his pale skin which shone strangely in the dark. He was in his black sleeveless shirt (how many of those did he own?) and boxer shorts and Winry couldn't help but notice that his body was in excellent shape. His legs were stronger and they even looked longer. He was getting taller. Again she found herself seeing him not him as a boy, but as a man.

The cold night made her shiver even under her blanket. Suddenly a thought came to her.

OoOoOoOoOo

Ed felt a rustle behind him and felt something touch his back. "What now, Winry?"

He stiffened when he felt a warm fuzzy something drop down around him. He looked up to see Winry smiling sleepily in the dark. Her eyes glittering in the moonlight, he felt the heat rising in his face. And in other places. He mentally slapped himself, this was Winry. His friend. His mechanic. And no amount of pale skin peeking out of a white tshirt should change that.

He rolled over again and wrapped the blanket around himself. _You're an idiot Edward_, he whispered in the silence.

He felt his chest clench up again at the thought of not being able to protect her. The homunculus had him. They had him like putty in their hands. He was now a pawn and would be played accordingly on their sick chessboard. How had he been so careless to let them figure out about his one weakness? No. That's what they thought. Winry was his strength. She was the balance in a world of chasing goals and being dog of the military. She made sure he didn't forget his promise to his brother, to himself. She made his world a little easier to live in, and was there when he was broken, both physically and emotionally. She had always been there, waiting for them to just pick up the phone.

He looked up again at her sleeping form, she had that wrench of hers under her head like a pillow; the one he had bought her the year he had become a certified state alchemist. She was sleeping on her side and he noticed she didn't have a blanket. Why didn't she have a--

Oh.

He felt his own blanket around his shoulders…the one she had draped over him. She really was something.

At that moment he decided that nothing in this world would hurt her as long as he was around. He would do anything, if it meant she would not come to harm.

* * *

A/N: Chapter 3 will be up Friday, there's a few things I need to correct on it...

R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yes, yes. I know I haven't updated in a while. Well I posted on the User bio page that I wanted to finish up with Second Chances before I continued on my other stories since it is close to being done. However, because of the popularity of this story, I guess I can work on both at the same time. This chapter has actually been on my computer for a month but I ended up changing it over the weekend so I hope it all flows well. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist I wouldn't have to write this disclaimer.**

**Chapter 3  
**

The sunlight streamed into the room which made it look like it was glowing. Winry got up at around nine o clock, took a shower and came back. Both Al and Ed were still asleep, or at least Edward was, and Al was just not turned on or whatever he did when he had eight hours to kill. She shook the water out of her hair catching a glimpse of blond hair peaking out from under a blanket. She would let him sleep a while longer. She sat down on the bed and started making a list of the things she needed to buy to fix whatever Ed had done to his arm. At around ten o clock or so Al excused him, like he had done the night before.

_I wonder what he's up to_, she said to herself absentmindedly, and then went back to her list. It seemed they would need to travel to the other end of town to get everything she needed for Ed's arm and the new tools Gartiel needed at the shop.

She took out a map of Rush Valley and was trying to figure out the best route to take when she heard rustling near the opposite end of the room.

She didn't take her eyes off the map. "Good to see you're up. Did you sleep okay?"

"Uh huh," Ed yawned and she heard the click of his automail leg as he got up from the floor with a groan."

"Where's Al?" There was a rustle of covers and clicking of footsteps as he made his way to the table.

"Said he had an errand to run, won't be back till late afternoon." She drew a black circle over All in One Automail Emporium on the left corner of the map. "Wouldn't tell me where he was going."

"Oh," Ed's tired voice sounded strangely deep. "Ngg…It's this late already? Why didn't you wake me Winry?"

At this Winry did look up, her eyes meeting a braidless Edward clad in boxers and black sleeveless. The military dog tag, as he called it, hung from its chain shining strangely in his right hand. She looked away recalling all the trouble that watch had brought upon them both, and chose to look at his face instead.

"You were out like a light. Figured I'd let you sleep," she smiled. "Besides, we don't have to leave for another hour." The train to the other side of town left at noon, Winry was sure they could make it considering it was around eleven o clock.

Ed yawned again. "I was half expecting you would beat me out of bed," he said scratching the back of his head and grinning like a goofball. "Just like when we were kids."

_When we were kids._ The words hung strangely in the air as Ed shuffled to the other side of the room and Winry went back to drawing circles on her map.

He had made it sound like they were adults, looking back on the "good ol' days" It hadn't been that long ago had it?

She let herself reminisce remembering the warm mornings in Rezembool, and her daily ritual of waking up the unwakeable alchemist on school days. When pulling and yelling proved to be fruitless, and cold water had no effect she had resorted to hitting him awake. It had worked pretty well. It had been that way every morning since, with Ed yelling at her back as they ran to catch up with Al on the hill. She had always waited for him and she was always almost late for allowing herself to. And while she would never admit it, she had rather enjoyed having him all to herself for that full one minute before they reached the top of the hill.

"Yea," Winry smiled. "You were always making us late."

"Yea..." Ed grinned. "And you were always excessively violent." He dodged the wrench as if he had been expecting it. He probably had.

"What do you mean, excessively violent?!" She lunged at him with the wrench and was surprised when he just caught her hand mid attack. Darn it he was catching on to her tactics, if this continued her attacks might be ineffective.

Her jaw dropped as he grabbed the wrench out of her hand.

"Point proven." Walking over to the bathroom door he put the wrench on the table. "I'm gonna take a shower. Try to loosen up a bit." There was that grin again. That unforgivable grin.

Grr…Winry watched the door close and couldn't help but smile. It was nice just to pretend they were back at home. If only for a moment.

"Maybe I should get us some breakfast," she said to herself as she walked to the dining hall.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Feeling significantly refreshed Edward stepped out of the shower, shaking the water out of his hair. He caught his reflection in the mirror; a sixteen year old blond with yellow eyes stared back at him. His appearance wasn't the most extraordinary in Amestris but if the Homunculus were looking for him it wouldn't be hard to recognize him. Not many Amestrian boys with golden eyes and hair and walked around with a suit of armor.

He walked into the room which was empty and rubbed his head with a towel. His hair was still soaked from his shower and looked darker than usual.

Hey, that could work.

Filling a bowl with water he gathered up the ingredients to perform a simple alchemic reaction and dunked his head in the bowl. He didn't look up as he heard the door swing open.

"I got us some breakfast," came the sound of Winry's voice.

"Thanks."

A flash of light shone as the black water in the bowl climbed into his hair like snakes. His head still tingled as he took he took his hair out of the bowl and turned to look at Winry who was applauding.

Ed straightened up and shook the excess water out of his hair then tossed it back over his shoulder. "Don't be so surprised. It's only one of the most basic tricks in alchemy. When I clap my hands like this--" he demonstrated, "I complete the circle and start the reaction, and when I touch the mixture in the water I absorb it into my hair." He smiled at her curious expression, "It's only temporary though."

He set the bowl aside and pulled his black sleeveless over his head. He caught sight of Winry who was smiling at him clearly amazed by the small trick. Once again he found himself wondering if she had always been so cute? And why was he noticing it now.

"It's a good look for you," Winry smiled and handed him his breakfast plate. Cinnamon toast and eggs and sausage. Three of his favorite foods of many.

"Thanks." He accepted it graciously.

They ate in silence for a minute or two. Ed felt his skin prickle and looked up to see Winry staring at him and giggling. He felt his face redden, what was so funny?

"What?" he asked through a mouth full of sausage.

"It's nothing. So why black hair exactly?" She was changing the subject, but he didn't mind.

He took a gulp of orange juice and decided to look at his plate rather than the blonde in front of him.

"Mustang. He wants me to check out the military base here, but the rumor is I'm supposed to be up North. It would be a lot of trouble if the Full Metal Alchemist was spotted in Rush Valley."

He took another bite. Of course that bastard hadn't told him a thing. He had figured it out on his own. The Colonel probably saw this as appropriate payback for going to East City without his knowledge.

"Nnn, speaking of which. Winry?"

"Mm?"

"How long has the military been here?" He would have heard about this back at Central, so it must have been recently.

He watched her finger go to her bottom lip as she tried to remember.

"Umm…not long. About two weeks after I came back from Central, I think. Why?"

_Clang. _

Edward looked down to see the damage his dropped fork had caused to his food. The handle was stained yellow with egg yolk.

So the Fuhrer had planned this before he even threatened them, It took at least a couple of months notice to set up and move a military group into a city.

He brought his up his eyes to meet her dark blue ones. They were filled with worry.

"Never mind," he shook his head. "It's not important."

He bent over and picked up his unpleasantly sticky fork. What could this mean? For what reason would the military be in Rush Valley if not for the Fuhrer to have closer hold on Winry?

They finished eating in silence. Ed put his plate down and got dressed in a corner while Winry looked through some book and jotted stuff down.

He noticed she was frowning as she turned the pages, he felt bad for leaving her in the dark but it's not like he could tell her his worries without revealing her hostage situation.

She didn't even notice him as he walked up behind her; she had her nose in that book. Curious he caught a glimpse. It was her schedule book and many of her customers had written comments. There was some scrawled blue writing near the bottom of the page, he barely made out the words "Beautiful mechanic," before she shut the book shut in his face.

Caught. Ed smiled sheepishly, "What you got there?"

Winry turned all colors of the red spectrum and then turned away. "Nothing…nothing at all just boring automail mechanic…stuff…" she babbled.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Boring automail mechanic stuff, huh?"

"Since when are you so nosy?!" she said turning to face him, her face now a light shade of pink.

Ed walked around her looking at her suspiciously "Since when does automail mechanic stuff make you blush?"

Winry's eyes grew into sharp stars. " It's nothing! Think that's enough black, Bean Boy?"

Ed let his mouth drop at her comeback. "What?"

He looked down at his outfit black button down shirt, and black trousers, and black boots. It all matched so perfectly well with his now black hair.

Okay, maybe she was right; but that didn't stop him from growling at her like some deranged black dog.

He calmed himself down. "C'mon let's go." He said ignoring Winry's surprised look as she followed him out the door.

He tried not to look at the cute confused look on her face as he locked the door. Still he couldn't help but hide a small smile, content to have erased the worried look off her face.

**OoOoOoOOo**

It was only about ten minutes later when the two of them stepped outside onto the busy streets of Rush Valley. They made their way through the unusually crowded streets and walked to the Rush Valley local train stop.

The train arrived promptly at noon. The station was conveniently across the street from their hotel so they got there with time to spare.

The train car was strangely empty, except for a few passengers.

"Looks like we beat the morning rush," said Winry; answering Ed's unasked question.

They occupied the last compartment sitting across from each other. Winry watched Ed stare out at the rolling scenery and wondered for about the hundredth time what was on his mind.

Something was bothering him, she knew that much. She figured it had something to do with the argument she had almost walked in on the night before.

"All aboard! Ladies and gentlemen thank you for riding the Rush Valley express, the next stop will be East End followed by Far Side, the last stop on this train. We will remain in the station for a few minutes in order for customers to board. Thank you for your patience."

Winry looked out the window, watching customers and train staff run up and down on the platform. "We should be getting there in thirty minutes or so"

According to the map and her general knowledge a new shop Mike's Automail emporium had opened at the other end of town and it was bound to have the materials she needed.

"It's lucky that I found this shop or you would have been in real trouble. It's the only one that would have the right kind of screws." Well, besides Gartiel Studios.

Ed just nodded obviously deep in thought about something. Winry felt once again as if he was hiding something from her.

_Same old Ed, worries alone, tells no one what's bothering him_. She sighed and leaned back in her seat. No he probably didn't have a girlfriend, and she was sure she understood why.

***

It was only five minutes into the ride when the two passengers got off, leaving only Ed and Winry in the train car.

Edward stared out at the rolling streets and buildings trying to calculate exactly how much money went into each renovated area they passed. He figured it took millions of sens. So, Bradley had set all this up even before he threatened them. He had spent millions of sens on this town in exchange for space for a military base. But why Rush Valley?

As with everything in the town even the transportation system had been reconstructed and now local service ran every hour on the hour from West Rush Valley to the other end of the town. Of course this was thanks to the funds the town received from the military. Ed had to admit it was pretty convenient but still, he had a feeling the homunculus wasn't throwing money around because he wanted to make life convenient for these people

His thoughts were cut abruptly when he felt Winry shift next to him. She looked at her worried expression for a second and when she said nothing he went back to his thoughts.

Surely the Fuhrer wanted to keep his hostages close; Hawkeye was sent to work for him, and Mustangs subordinates were sent to the front lines. Perhaps opening a base here made it more convenient to get to Winry. But that didn't make any sense, it seemed like too much money to spend when he could just send someone after her. And if this plan had been set up before he knew about Winry at all—

No. There was something else. There had to be. And he feared it might have something to do with a Philosopher's Stone. Rush Valley had enough people to make a stone; enough people to start a war in order to spur citizens to make one. He grit his teeth, if that bastard was planning to star a war--.

"Edward, be careful!"

Winry Rockbell, was staring at his left arm, a horrified expression on her face. As he followed her gaze he realized he had been digging his automail fingers into his flesh arm; indicated by a trail of bloody marks. The pain flared up at the realization.

His sleeves were ripped and the skin underneath was red. He looked up at her again, unsure of what to say. 'Whoops' came to mind.

He settled on. "Ouch."

For a moment he thought she was going to strangle him. She stared back at him with wide blue eyes, lips pressed in a tight line. Then she stood up looming over him, causing him to draw back into his seat.

Digging into her coat pocket Winry fished out a handkerchief, then took hold of his arm. Drawing back the bloody sleeve she wrapped the handkerchief around it, (it stung like the dickens) not saying a word.

Another minute passed and Ed decided to break the silence. "Well, that's never happened before."

"You idiot!" she exploded. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Did you suddenly go crazy?"

"Calm down. It was just an accident."

He hissed in pain when as tied the knot too tight, almost jerking him upwards out of his seat.

Winry sighed, letting go of his arm and crossed her arms over her chest as she sat back down. "Idiot."

Ed pulled his tattered sleeve back over his bandaged arm and chanced a glance at the girl across from him. She looked angry and her blue eyes were hidden by her bangs. There was a dark shadow over her face, and her shoulders shuddered slightly. She looked like she was about to cry.

Hadn't he promised her the last time at Central that the next time she cried it would be tears of happiness. For now it seemed he had to hold back on that promise. A sort of cold feeling clenched in his chest.

She looked up at him. Then up at the ceiling sighing, and let out a dry laugh. "You really are nothing but trouble."

Edward looked at his arm, Winry had bandaged it the best she could. However the blood soaked through the cloth and dripped down to his wrist.

"You know, Winry," he said in a calm voice, "I thought you would have been happier when you found out. That Al and I were staying longer."

She shifted in her seat to face him.

"What the hell? You've been back for only a day and you already have holes in you. Unexplained holes, at that. And now you're sitting here pretending nothing is bothering you, poking more holes in yourself. Excuse me if I don't have a smile on my face."

"Forget that. I'm fine."

"No you are not fine. Something is bothering you, it has been since you got here, whether you want to admit it or not."

Ed brought his eyes up and held her gaze for a second, then let his eyes wander back to the floor.

"What makes you say that?" he hoped he sounded casual.

Winry's voice got softer and she looked to the floor. "I…I heard you and Al arguing last night."

He looked up suddenly, glaring at her even though she looked pretty sorry about it.

"You had no business doing that!" He almost whispered it, making him sound more dangerous.

Winry didn't falter. "I didn't do it purposely, nor did I hear everything, but it was enough for me to realize that something is going on."

She looked directly into his eyes; blatantly ignoring the smoldering look he gave her. "Edward, I've seen you fight before. I can only guess what happened to your limbs."

Her voice grew louder at the next words. "I thought the secrets were over. Wasn't it you that promised you wouldn't keep me in the dark any more?"

He held her gaze for a few seconds then shifted his eyes downward; eyebrows drawn together, trying his best to hold most of his anger back for her sake.

"But of course I was stupid to think the great Full Metal Alchemist would tell me anything."

Edward's eyes widened as he resisted a wince, his ribs tightening. She would never have any idea how deeply those words cut him.

"Winry…"

"Why won't you tell me anything? Do you think I can't handle it?"

No that wasn't it. He was sure she could handle it. Winry was a strong girl, he knew she wouldn't be afraid. He was the one afraid; for her. For what might happen to her, if the Fuhrer realized he wasn't playing by his sick rules.

She was in danger because of him and he couldn't tell her. The Fuhrer held her life above his head, like a dangling string of yarn, and he had to do everything the homunculi wanted. Letting her get too close would only endanger her more.

Of course, it was his fault, for not realizing this sooner, for not being able to protect her. He felt a pang in his chest again, where his ribs hand been broken since his stay in Gluttony's stomach.

Father had fixed him up afterwards, but whether it were ghost pains or his injury went farther than the physical he didn't know. Just the memory of that time caused him to ache. The faces of all those people he had to use to get out of there. He would never forget them. Maybe that's what this pain was.

"Maybe it would be best if after I'm done repairing your limbs; I go back to Gartiel Studios. Then you can get as hurt and busted up all you want." She wiped a few stray tears off her cheeks.

Ed looked up at Winry. She was mad, he knew that much. In normal circumstances she wouldn't say such a thing. He couldn't blame her. He was making her worry and leaving her in the dark again. But it was not like he had a choice. He was really trapped in this situation.

He couldn't tell her to go back to Rezembool, he couldn't bring her with him, and even if he did suggest those options she would ask him for an explanation. And while she already suspected he was hiding something from her, he wasn't going to let her know. Even if did mean she was furious with him.

He brought his eyes to the floor, contemplating. He didn't want to leave her alone. He had been so relieved to hear her voice on the phone if only for two minutes. The thought of her hating him caused his throat to burn but he decided it was safer for her to just stay away. Away from him, at least until he could defeat the homunculi. His mind made up, he swallowed and tried to find his next words.

Edward clenched his fists. "Yeah, that might be best."

Apparently he struck her dumb with his words because she didn't reply.

"There are some things...I just can't tell you, Winry. What you heard…it has nothing to do with you. You already know how dangerous this is, I don't need to explain it."

He held her gaze despite his brain screaming at him to look away. "This is my burden to bear and I'll find a way to deal with it."

A few minutes passed and Winry found the words again. She looked livid.

"Don't you start with that, not again. I do know. But that doesn't stop me from being worried about you two. How do you think I feel not knowing anything? Watching you leave every time, wondering if you'll ever come back again? You promised…no more secrets…no more lies…"

Her voice broke into a sob.

"Don't you dare cry." Edward's voice was acid.

He looked at her with great difficulty her eyes were red, but no tears fell. He felt like a jerk. She was right. He had promised her, no more secrets. He had meant it too, but that was before her well being became an issue. He remembered telling her the next time she cried would be out of happiness. What a joke, he really didn't deserve her.

"It was a mistake to tell you anything. I know that now." He tried his best to keep his voice from cracking, lying usually came so easily to him.

"I also made a promise to Al, that no matter what, I would get his body back, knowing full well the dangers we had to face, the things I would have to do."

Well it wasn't a complete lie. "I don't regret any of it. But now there is too much at stake, we can't let anything stand in our way."

Winry was silently narrowing her eyes at him, he knew he was hurting her, but ironically he'd rather her be hurt and hate him, than dead or worse. "Not even you."

He hid his eyes behind his bangs. "You asked for the truth, well there it is. Plain as day."

Winry's eyes were wide. "Liar."

Ed tensed, but didn't say anything.

"You're not even a skilled liar," she went on. "I bet you don't even believe half the things you just said. No, this isn't you, Edward."

"Sorry to disappoint, but it is. People change, Winry. Getting yourself involved will only cause more pain. It's better to realize it now than get hurt later."

"No! Do you really expect me to believe that! If I was in the way, like you said, if you didn't want me involved…why didn't you just cut me out of your life four years ago?!"

This made Ed react. He stood up and before he realized what he was doing he grabbed her arm sharply, pulling her upright. The anger he had been holding back found it's way into his burning eyes and his voice.

"Shut up! You have no idea…no idea…" His voice broke, and he realized what he had just done. He loosened his hold suddenly feeling all the energy leave him. For some reason however he didn't have the will to let go.

Winry didn't try to get away, she didn't even flinch.

"No I don't. I don't have any idea why you think you have to put the weight of the world on your shoulders, why you blame yourself for every unfortunate thing, why you force yourself to pay for whatever sins you think you committed, why you keep so many secrets…Sometimes I don't understand you at all, Edward Elric. How can I when all you do is hide things from me? But…I know you're a good person. That you wouldn't do anything to hurt others…"

"No…wrong…you're wrong…" What the hell was she doing to him?

"Cut the act, already. You suck at pretending. "

He turned his eyes away from her. No more. He couldn't look at her.

"Look at me! I don't want to see you like this. The only reason I ask anything is because I'm worried about you. Because I know something is killing you inside."

"Just drop it, Winry," said Ed, finally regaining his voice and letting go of her arm. Or at least he tried; Winry pulled him back.

"Stop pushing me away! I know you Edward. Your limbs are made of steel but your heart is made of flesh and blood just like everyone else."

Edward just stood silent. It was like her words had defeated anything he would say before he said it.

Winry let go and sat down in her seat.

"We get off at the next stop."

**OoOoOoOoOo**

After about ten minutes of silence on the trolley, and fifteen more minutes of silence walking, the pair finally arrived at their destination. The All in One Automail Emporium was packed with customers and the employees were running around up and down the aisles trying to take down orders and find parts. Winry, despite her melancholy mood felt a lot more cheerful once she stepped in. It was every automail mechanic's dream.

Hundreds of different designs were displayed on the walls. Not to mention the shelves full of every tool an automail mechanic might need. Screwdrivers, wrenches, hacksaws, pliers…the list went on forever. They were here to pick up a few things, but Winry was sure it would be worth the price if she did some additional shopping.

"Hurry up and get over here Ed," she called over her shoulder.

She was sure Edward was dragging behind so he wouldn't have to talk to her. Well too bad for him, the reason they were here was because he'd trashed his arm in the first place. She would teach him the basics, so he'd take care of some of the maintenance himself, especially now that he had admitted he was up to something dangerous again.

Edward shuffled towards her dragging his feet on purpose, asking for a wrench to the head with each slow step.

Winry rolled her eyes and instead brought her eyes to a set of screwdrivers, a set of 5 for 10000 senz, oh and they were Gott's design too!

Her eyes lit up with delight as she studied the smooth polished wood (looked like cherry wood) and the fact that they were all small size with pointed tips, the most convenient for taking out annoying tiny screws.

"Let me guess, you want it." Winry cocked her head to see Edward standing right behind her, his eyes on the screwdriver set.

"It's the most perfect screwdriver set ever! I'd never have to buy a new one again! " Winry started then she stopped herself. "But I really need to get 0.5 AA type screws, that and a new servos, I don't know what the hell happened to you, but it seems to have cracked the inner mechanism."

She trailed off when she noticed a nice selection of spare automail parts stacked behind glass along the wall. She made a beeline for it, searching for gears and servos that would actually fit Ed's arm. Oh and she supposed new wiring couldn't hurt.

"Looking for anything in particular, miss?"

Winry looked up to see light blue eyes and a smile so warm and gentle she couldn't help but beam back. "Actually I was looking for a servos replacement, it has to be reinforced steel but not lightweight enough that it's not hindered by weight. Oh and do you carry yards of insulated wire, I need about six yards worth."

"Whoa," the boy looked impressed. "You really do know your stuff."

Winry grinned proudly. "Well I suppose I should, I'm actually an automail mechanic. In fact," she said spotting Edward hovering by the alloyed hoods selection. "I'm here looking for spare parts to fix his arm. As you can see he doesn't take great care of his limbs. And I even used reinforce steel."

Edward seemed to realize that he was being talked about, because he looked up and gave her a questioning look.

The look then shifted to the blue eyed boy who had somehow spirited himself next to the alchemist and was surveying every detail in his automail with intense concentration.

"Ahh here you, oohh I see and you used type AA, but over here, double insulated wire, yet still thin enough to attach to the nerve connections and light enough to act as synthetic muscles."

He looked up expectantly at Ed. "May I?"

Yellow eyes flicked like a lamp light shining in her direction.

Winry gave him a stern look, hoping he'd be polite for a day in his life.

Edward sighed and let the guy take hold of his arm, flexing the elbow joint and running his fingers in between the joint. His eyes widened, probably noticing the clever tiered designs in the figures, allowing them to bend the same way as true flesh would.

"This is remarkable work." He looked up at Winry. "I would love to know who taught you such advanced techniques. Are you doing any apprenticeship?"

"She taught herself." Ed's voice surprised her, he sounded almost ridiculing, as he pulled his sleeve back over his arm despite the fact the guy hadn't let go. "Winry's the best mechanic there is. Now if you'd kindly let go of my arm." Winry was impressed when the"or else I'll run you into the ground",or other such threatwentunsaid.

The guy obliged, reluctantly and then turned to face her. "Winry, huh? I'm Peter. I hope you don't mind I studied if your friend's design more closely. Seeing it now I wonder why other models aren't built this skillfully."

Winry blushed. He was kind of cute, now that she got a good luck at him. "Not at all. "Ed let him see your arm."

"He just saw it!"

Winry ignored him and gestured for him to pull his sleeve up again.

Ed groaned, but he obeyed, swaying awkwardly as Peter moved his arm from here to there, muttering, "amazing…" every now and then.

"I'll let you keep him while I shop," Winry said.

"Hey!" Ed growled.

"Really?" Peter's eyes lit up, not letting go of the flailing alchemist.

"I'm not okay with this!"

"Thanks, Winry. Oh I've always wanted to see such advanced stuff up close."

Ed turned his glare to Winry. "What the hell, Win?"

"I need to get this shopping done, Ed. And I'm not going to risk turning my back on you only for you to get into trouble."

"What! I don't need looking after!"

"Besides," she ignored his potential to breath fire at her. "Peter seems to know a lot about automail and I'd like his opinion on the best way to thin out the top layer of the hood without making it brittle,"

And with that said, she walked away. She almost had felt bad when she saw how panic stricken he looked. Ah he'll get over it.

Half an hour later, Winry had finally everything she needed. Peter had at some point, abandoned Ed, or more accurately Ed had run away from him, and the bean boy was no where in sight.

Ah well, it wasn't like she was surprised.

She smiled at the young man as he input her purchases into the cash box.

"You really are amazing," he said. "Even our most experienced automail mechanics don't exhibit that level of expertise. Ed's sure lucky."

"Thanks, sadly though he doesn't understand the mechanics of it which is part of the problem I think."

She sighed. "Maybe if I focus on making the hood more durable, it would increase the chances of the inner mechanism remaining intact."

Peter smiled as he calculated the price of the last of the tools. "Well 15000 senz. Not bad don't you think?"

Winry's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure, that cheap? I could have sworn I spent 15000 on the spare parts alone. Are you sure you added up right?"

Peter winked at her. "I'm sure."

Winry dug into her wallet for the money and handed it to him. "Thanks," she said when he handed her the packages.

You wouldn't happen to know where Ed ran off to, do you?" Not in the mood to go off on an expedition after the alchemist.

"Uh sorry, don't. He sort of took off running five minutes after you left. I eventually let him go it was like trying to chase after a cat," he said with a sort of amazement.

Winry sighed. "He's probably halfway across town by now."

One of the other cashier's walked up behind the counter and dusting his apron off.

"Miss, if you're looking for your boyfriend, he's..."

He didn't need to finish that sentence because the shout the rose and echoed removed any doubt.

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE, ARE YOU FRIKING DEAF?"

Winry and company turned to the direction of the noise and sure enough saw Ed in front of the store, surrounded by a crowd of people. Winry guessed by the wrenches in their hands that they were all mechanics.

"You have to let us see, boy."

"We ain't since this kind of work in these parts."

One put up a screwdriver, and Ed back away from him. "I bet you he looks better from the inside."

Edward brought his hands up in a defensive post. "Touch me, and I'll turn you into paper machete."

"Such engineering another said completely ignoring him, "This definitely is top of the line material."

Winry met his eyes, and willed him for all that was sacred in this world not to start a fight with these people. It wasn't like his arm could handle it.

"Who's your mechanic, boy?"

Ed dropped his defense apparently getting the message. He kept his eyes on Winry as she approached the crowd, Peter and the other cashier on either side of her.

Winry stepped out in front of the group of five or or six men with her hands on her hips. "I am! Is there a problem?"

The man looked incredulously at Winry. "You?"

"You're a woman!" Another man shouted.

"Yeah, and she's way better than the rest of you lunk heads!" Edward sneered moving away from them and closer to her.

She caught the look that said, this-is-your-fault-for-leaving-me-alone-here, but she ignored him.

"I'm going to have to ask you all to clear the entrance," Peter said, sternly, looking at the each mechanic in turn. "This is a safety hazard, and you're interrupting the peace of the customers."

The man, ignored him. "Well, missy, I'll admit you got some skill, how would you like to join up with me and be my apprentice? I've been looking for a talented mechanic on which to pass on my enormous skill. For I am Erwein Rozl, the best mechanic in Rush Valley!"

The other men all gasped in awe at his words. "You've finally found them, boss. The one you've been seeking."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. You dare to question my eyes. This woman is a shining star among mechanics, it is clear by the care and precision in which she put together than astounding arm!"

"Even if she is a woman it is a great honor."

Ed roll his eyes in her peripheral vision.

Winry blinked at the rowdy men casting a glance at Peter and the other cashier, and the small crowd of customers in the store who had gathered at the commotion.

"Uh…I'm sorry to disappoint you," The murmuring crowd went silent at her words. "Mr. Rozl but I'm already in an apprenticeship and I'm not interested in teaming up with anyone else right now."

A tinge of guilt went through her as the man's resolved expression cracked in two. If she didn't know better she would have thought he was going to cry then and there.

Rozle, stared at the ground for a few seconds. "I respect your choice, fair lass. However, if I may, I ask one request."

"Huh…uh sure."

"I request to have your assistance in a particular design I am working on."

The crowd gasped again, and Ed scoffed.

"Go on,"

"It is supposed to be the most innovative project in automail technology, however it is also to big to take on alone I am short on hands that actually understand the technology. Will you help me miss. To make the biggest leap in automail history!"

Winry considered this as the crowd held it's breath. It sounded a lot like her own dream, but, she glanced at Ed she had other things that needed taking care of.

"At this time, I'm afraid I'm really busy, but," she added quickly before the man could fall to pieces. "This boy here," she turned to Peter. "I just met him, but I'm truly impressed by the way he understands the underlying principles of automail. I think he'll be the perfect person to help you."

Peter's eyes widened as she smiled at him. "Although," she added. "I would be honored, to offer any of my skills, on helping with the design specs, in my free time."

"What say you boy?"

"Uh…I…would be honored. Really…honored…"

Rozl's grin widened under his bushy beard. "Then I have my apprentice! What a joyous day this day is!"

He put an arm around the disbelieving young man.

"A new day is upon us!"

He turned to Winry and Ed. " I am convinced has destined us to meet. If ever you are in the need of my help. Please know that Rozl the Great will be at your service!"

Winry wasn't surprised when the crowd burst out in applause. Rush Valley's passion for automail appreciation bordered on over dramatic.

Ed however, looked completely astounded when the crowd went scattered and went about their business.

Rozl bowed to her and walked up to Peter. "Come on boy, the great innovation awaits!"

"What, right now! I'm in I'm in the middle of working, sir…"

"Ah yes, well tomorrow then, bright and early."

"I open the store at seven."

"Ah then, I will come to you during your lunch hour! And together…"

Winry drowned him out walking over to Ed.

"What…what the hell was that?"

"It's just Rush Valley Ed."

It was about three o clock when Winry and Ed said goodbye to Peter, the other shop keepers, and Rozl, and his gang of automail enthusiasts.

They were rowdy as all hell, but they didn't seem like bad, people. Like someone she knew. After promising to visit again, they wet on their way.

When Winry stepped outside, she almost dropped the bags at the look Edward was giving her. "What?"

"You know, I always thought _you_ were an automail junkie. But after seeing these guys…"

"I'm sure there are alchemists that are just as crazy."

Ed's laugh seemed a little forced. "Right."

They walked in silence for a few blocks.

"I'm really sorry," Winry said unable to hold the words back.

"Heh, it's okay. I'm just relieved they didn't figure out my leg was automail too."

"That's not what I meant."

Ed stopped walking, his head titled back as he surveyed the afternoon sun. It was as if he was bracing himself for what she was going to say next.

Winry wondered what he saw when he looked up. Certainly not the sky, his eyes were always clouded over, distant, as if he was looking beyond the blue expanse at something that he only he could see.

"Edward," his name left her lips before she could stop them. "I'm not going to ask anymore, okay."

He made a sound that sounded like a tired sigh.

"But that doesn't mean I'll stop worrying."

"Fair enough."

No more words were said as they continued on their trek to the train station. The sun was still high in the sky, despite the fact that it was well past noon. Children's laughter echoed from alley ways. A tumbleweed, here and there, every so often rolled past their bench, the smell of desert air with it.

Every now and then when Winry would glance at Edward, she wondered if he even noticed.

The walk to the train, was different somehow, Ed seemed more aware of his surroundings than he had all afternoon. Winry figured, perhaps he had finally sorted out whatever was bothering him.

As they sat back down in the leather seats, waiting for the conductor to blow the whistle, Winry fished out her planning book and tried to figure out how she was going to get his arm done and still keep her regular schedule.

"You can fit me in whenever. I'm in no hurry."

She looked up at first not realizing what he was talking about.

"I know you have other customers," he clarified gesturing at the written pages.

"My other customers aren't being hunted down by bloodthirsty monsters, Ed. I'd feel more at ease if I worked on you as soon as possible."

He leaned his forehead against the window. "Suit yourself."

"That guy was really impressed with you."

Winry glanced up. "What? Well most automail mechanics around here, are really boastful and arrogant but they have respect for other people's work I guess. He really was a character, though."

So was her master, Garfiel now that she thought of it. She wondered what would happen if the two of them ever met, then quickly sought to erase the image from her mind.

"It's a good thing you didn't fight him, Ed," she continued. "No offense but I'm not so sure the odd's would have been in your favor."

"You really didn't notice."

Winry blinked as Edward's yellow eyes fixed on her as if searching her soul. Of course she looked away. "Noticed, what?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, I'm surprised you'd pass up a chance to change the world of "automail as we know it." Haven't you dreamed of that since you were like seven?"

"I had other things to focus on, Ed."

"Besides, Peter seemed to be very up to the task, I'm glad he gets to put his talent to use."

Ed gave her a lopsided look then looked out the window. "I guess."

During the course of the train ride Winry managed to squeeze Ed between a new customer's rehab session and a home visit.

She handed him the paper with his appointment not surprised when he merely glanced and pocketed it without a word.

* * *

**A/N: I don't know why this chapter gave me so much trouble, but I've had it on my computer for a month now. I re-wrote the train and store scenes like seven times. I needed to set ground for Ed and Winry's emotional status, if you will I didn't want to make it either fluff or angst fest, so I ended up cutting out a lot. Now the stage is set for me to run wild with this. Oh and Al? Yeah he'll be in the next chapter. Real life is eating me alive in the form of organic chemistry, and latin midterms, so I'm not going to promise an update in a week's time, maybe two. Let's go with two weeks for now.**


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